Analysis of the Creative Features of Alexander Ekman’s version of “Swan Lake”: Deconstruction, Medium and Spatio-temporal Reconstruction

DOI

10.2991/978-2-38476-611-6_133How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Alexander Ekman; “Swan Lake”; Deconstructionism; Cross-media; Dance Theatre

Abstract

This paper takes “Swan Lake”, created by Swedish choreographer Alexander Ekman for the Norwegian National Ballet in 2014, as the research object and deeply analyzes its subversive creative characteristics. The research focuses on three core dimensions. First, through the dissolution of the gender relations of the main characters and the symbolization of the group image, the power structure of the characters in the classic narrative is deconstructed. Second, by applying non-linear narrative and media collage, it breaks the traditional spatio-temporal logic and constructs a three-dimensional dramatic framework that connects history, the present and the future. Thirdly, by introducing large-scale installations such as water stages and mirror walls, as well as diversified sound effects, the expression media of dance have been greatly expanded. This paper innovatively introduces text analysis of performance reviews and audience feedback data, and combines specific stage technical parameters to quantitatively demonstrate its artistic effect. Research suggests that Ekman's creations are not only a successful contemporary transformation of ballet classics, but also, with his profound deconstructive thinking and cross-media practice, provide a highly inspiring model for the development of dance theater.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Jinyi Guo
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/07
TI  - Analysis of the Creative Features of Alexander Ekman’s version of “Swan Lake”: Deconstruction, Medium and Spatio-temporal Reconstruction
BT  - Proceedings of the 2026 12th International Conference on Digital Humanities and Frontiers in Social Sciences (DHFSS 2026)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 1249
EP  - 1255
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-611-6_133
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-611-6_133
ID  - Guo2026
ER  -